Responses on the Documents Concerning African Americans

Name
Instructor
Course
Date
Response to From a Red Record
The fascinating thing about reading "From a Red Record" is Ida reveals the horrific lynching of African Americans and the excuses used to justify this act. As a young black woman, Ida felt the need to speak out about the evil committed against African Americans after an ordeal that led her to seek justice. She had been denied the right to sit on the train despite her first-class ticket with the claim that she was black. Thus, although she went to court and won the first time, the ruling was revoked. As a result, she felt the need to inform people of the horrific things done to African Americans because of their race.
It is heartbreaking to read about the reasons why horrific acts committed against African American men persisted for a long time. In this article, Ida is keen to portray various reasons that support why a white man acts. The first reason, as Ida posits, was that it began as conscienceless outlawry. The white man felt more motivated to support lynching because this was something denied to him. The other reason that was given was the need to prevent riots (Ida 396). Therefore, although a lot of African Americans were hung and killed, it was deemed a necessary measure of controlling riots by white men. The other claim was that African American men had been given the right to vote and that they often raped white women. Consequently, African Americans would be shot, hung, and burned with the claim that it was a necessity. The other thing I liked from reading the article was learning that although Ida spoke out about the evils committed against African Americans endangered her life, which did not prevent her from speaking. Ida died of poisoning while she was yet to complete writing her memoirs. Ida played a significant role in informing people of the evils committed against African Americans. Thus, the document was very informative to read.
Response to What Black Studies is not
Reading Greg Carr's work is fascinating because it demonstrates what black studies are not. Greg began by explaining what African studies are and their importance so that when explaining what it is not, the readers could easily understand. The section I found interesting is when Greg mentions that Africana Studies does not entail the reinforcement of black "exceptionalism." In contrast, it is about the need to remind individuals that they have an obligation to contribute to human society. Another interesting part from the reading is when Greg mentions that Africana Studies does not imply avoiding various critical questions raised by scholars on translation and recovery. Instead, it is about ensuring that the right questions are asked to obtain accurate information on the translation, assumptions made, and sources of information that will significantly impact African studies.
Furthermore, I found the document interesting to read because it demonstrates that knowing what African studies are and what are not is very helpful in ensuring that the challenges likely to occur are well dealt with in the future. Through this, African Americans can live in America without facing discrimination and other forms of inequality. Greg demonstrates that this is attainable by ensuring that ...